Ted Talks: Fifty5Blue Debuts Natural Language Assistant

London-based Fifty5Blue, the company until recently known as Kantar Media, has launched Ted, a new AI assistant designed to help media professionals access audience insights faster from complex and fragmented data. Ted is the product of the firm's dedicated software arm TechEdge.

Kantar Media announced in February it was rebranding as Fifty5Blue, a year after the global insights group agreed the sale of the division to London-based alternative investment firm H.I.G. Capital, for around $1 billion.

Ted provides a natural language Q&A interface to help teams save time when searching for information, building reports and responding to data requests. Users can ask questions by text or voice and receive answers in multiple formats and languages. The firm says Ted has been purpose-built for audience measurement, and to navigate complex, large-scale data, including audience measurement and first-party data, with 'safety and privacy built in from the start.'

Currently piloting with selected TechEdge users as part of a collaborative development programme, Ted is being trained and refined to fit around clients' own workflows, challenges and use cases. Søren Holmberg Andersen, Executive MD of TechEdge, explains: 'The most valuable AI solutions are built with clients, not for clients. We are working closely with partners to ensure Ted solves real-world challenges and becomes a trusted assistant for media professionals.'

Zuber Nosimohomed (pictured), President of Fifty5Blue and TechEdge comments: 'AI is transforming the measurement industry. We are impatient for our customers, which is why Fifty5Blue is embedding AI innovation across our products and processes. Ted is the latest example of that commitment.' He adds: 'Ted will make audience insights easier to access, understand and act on. This opens TechEdge up to more users and helps them turn insights into business value faster.'

Home pages: www.grouptechedge.com and www.fifty5blue.com .